Double my dosage of Levo?

[Jhgking]

Hi All.

I recieved a call from my GP this morning (just as I was rushing out the door on the school run, obviously!) telling me to double my Levo from 50mcg to 100mcg. Is this wise? I think I've read somewhere on here that it should be done in 25mcg intervals? I'm on Mercury Pharma.

I haven't had a chance to collect a print out of my results yet so don't actually know what the levels are at this point but it seems they're not amazing if doc is saying I need to double up. Should I wait until I've seen the numbers for myself do you think?

My back story is I've been on 50mcg Levo since Dec 2021 when my TSH was 7 and I was having some serious heart palpitations and fatigue amongst other symptoms. Since then I've been reading lots of useful information on this site and booked my recent blood test early in the morning and skipped my Levo that morning until after the bloods.

I requested my blood levels be tested for iron, folate, ferritin, vit D, b12 and antibodies. As well as FT3 and FT4. Which the receptionist took issue with 🙄 but the GP obliged, luckily. So I should have a full picture once I get the print out. But they did blurt out on the phone that I also need iron supplements so something's off there too.

Thanks for everyone's previous posts and input. You've definitely helped speed up this painful process for me 💐

[SarahJane1471]

Well we definitely need to see the figures to make any judgement. However I would NOT double the dose as it is advised on here that the increase is 25mcgs at a time and a retest after 6-8 weeks. It seems a big jump! Others with far greater knowledge will come along with advice soon 🙏

[Jhgking in reply to SarahJane1471]

Thanks. It did seem like a hike.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Come back with new post once you get results from GP,

Yes…..usually best to increase dose in 25mcg step’s rather than too much too quickly…..but it’s very individual

But don’t turn down the full increase,….just adjust dose yourself if necessary

(cut a 50mcg tablet in half to get 25mcg)

After 6-8 weeks on 75mcg you might want to retest before next increase to 100mcg

[Jhgking in reply to SlowDragon]

Great, thanks. I'll do that.

I'm on Mercury. I had a bad reaction when they swapped my second prescription to North Star so the pharmacy is now keeping me on Mercury.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Jhgking]

Mercury Pharma make 25mcg, 50mcg and 100mcg tablets

Generally one of the more easily available and well tolerated brands

Always check the brand before leaving the counter at pharmacy

[tattybogle in reply to Jhgking]

if you want to try 75mcg first but keep the 100mcg prescription, you may need to find a way to make sure they prescribe 2x 50mcg (rather than 1 x 100mcg .. which would make getting 75mcg daily a proper faff )

They will usually choose to prescribe 100mcg as 1x 100 , because one tablet is obviously half the price of 2 ...... not that it's a massive issue ..a packet of Levo is only about £1, but NHS budgets and efficiency and all that.. mean they might need a 'reason' to do otherwise.

I manage to get 2x50's by saying i prefer to take it split in 2 doses because "i noticed i feel better doing that" ... they usually look at me like i'm silly or have two heads when i say this, but they agree to do it humour me /shut me up

To be honest ... even though i usually agree with the wisdom of smaller adjustments (even as small as 12.5mcg) when you are somewhere near the right dose ... i don't think they are always necessary when going from 0 to 50mcg , or 50 to 100mcg .

I did 0 to 50 , 50 to 100, then 100 to 150 without any difficulty at all... the only thing i would do different with hindsight , is i would have tried 125 then 137.5 rather than go straight to 150... I stayed on 150mcg for 15 years but now i know how much difference a small adjustment of 12.5mcg can make i often wonder if i would have done better with 137.5mcg for all those years.

My TSH was only 6.8 at diagnosis , but i still needed at least 100mcg.. an awful lot of people do .. and even though my dose has reduced since menopause . i still need 112.5mcg.

So if i were you, i might just go with the 100mcg and see what happens .. if it turns out you do need about 100mcg .. then you will have just saved yourself a few extra months of feeling naff when you could have been feeling better sooner.

if it's 'too much too soon '. and it's going to give you palpitations . you'll soon know about it .. then you can knock it back a bit to 75mcg anyway.

It's Swings and Roundabouts ..one way is 'quicker' , the other way 'safer' .... take your pick

Your GP has gone for 'quicker'.

[Jhgking in reply to tattybogle]

Thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely ask for 50mcg tabs so I can amend the dose myself if necessary.

[Lalatoot in reply to Jhgking]

I take my levo in 2 doses - morning and night as it suits me better that way. Was suggested by my endo as I found 100mcg in one dose made me feel ill.Tell them you take it in 2 doses so need 2x 50mcg per day.

[Charlie-Farley]

It’s nice to here someone is getting some progress thrilled for you!

[Jhgking in reply to Charlie-Farley]

I honestly think it would be a very different picture without this site. I'm so grateful for the info I've found on here.

[Charlie-Farley]

Me too! 😊👍. Saved my life!